Friday 19th
Can't believe that we are 4 weeks into the cruise, but on the other hand this shipboard life just seems soooo normal! Big day today as we arrived in Aqaba for our trip to the lost city of Petra. We were up before the 6.00 am alarm and it was as magnificent sight, with the water dead calm and quiet. Had room service breakfast as we were on a pretty tight schedule. The only thing wrong was that the coffee was cold, so I phoned up for tea, which was much better. Down to the Vista Lounge to assemble pre trip. It seems that well over half the ship went. We were Green 18 (which actually has no significance).
It is roughly 2 hours drive out of Aqaba, mainly along the Desert Highway and then on to Kings Highway which is steeped in (biblical) history. We had 1 stop on the way for rest room, photos & guess what? - souvenirs! So we got to Petra village before 11.00. It was hot, but there was as bit of cooling breeze.
There was a 1km walk down to the Sig, which is the narrow passage between the 2 hills, leading to ancient Petra. The Sig itself is just over 1 km long and is in most places about 5 - 6 metres wide, which is fine for walking, but not when a horse and carriage comes trotting (galloping) through!! The further good news is that we are walking downhill at this stage.
Along the way there are numerous cavings and caverns built into the rock and at the end of course is the most famous Treasury, which is at the opening of the old city itself.
We ventured a little further to Theatre, which is somewhat similar to the Roman open air theatres. The main difference is that Petra was constructed over 2200 years ago by the Nabataean people as a gigantic burial ground. To say that it was impressive would be an understatement. We were in awe and had a great guide. However physical needs (that is heat and the fact that the journey back was uphill) saw us journey no further into the ruins. It seems that most were like us and only the brave and strong climbed further on.
We persevered and got back well before our appointed lunch time of 2.00. Of course we were trekking at the hotest time of the day and the only good part was that the Sig was generally half shaded from the hills towering 80 odd metres straight up. There were some alternative means of transport, horses (only to the Sig), carts through the Sig, Camels apparently to the Theatre and donkeys for climbing further on.
There were also the usual hawkers along the way and Vivian was particularly taken with the children selling postcards. They were about 6 to 10 years old and they spoke perfect English, even if it was a hawkers sales pitch. Must admit that they were cute. One young boy wanted Vivian's umbrella and when that was not on offer asked for water, which Vivian poured into his mouth. Lunch was provided at one of the local hotels and unfortunately we had quite a wait until we departed for our 2 hour trip back to the ship. Certainly a trip well worth doing.
A number of general observations: It was Friday - Muslim prayer day, plus it was day 2 of Ramadan, so outside of Petra very little was open, although they said it would be party time after sunset! Despite this it was surprising that although we travelled through quite a number of towns & villages, there was no sign of any people including children! Can only assume that the whole family simply stayed in bed all day (....no, that's not allowed either!). We did see a number of Bedouin tending their goats & sheep. It was explained that they live in their tents etc during the summer and return to "proper" housing over winter.
As with our last visit to Aqaba, many houses and other buildings have been demolished and reconstruction is yet to take place. Outside of Aqaba, there are many new structures in the course of completion. All buildings seem to provide for additional levels or something as the reinforcing rods are left exposed, or half the blocks have been laid and nothing further.
Jordan gets on well with all it's neighbours but this has resulted in almost 2 million refugees, mainly from Syria & Iraq. It was noticeable that the Israeli town of Eilat which shares the Gulf of Aqaba has greatly expanded since our last visit. From what I understand the border between the two is now open and even some passengers visited Israel ( at least they didn't have Ramadan).
Two tired kiwis made it back to the ship just after 6.00 and after a rest and shower, got to dinner at our usual time. It was open sitting as we weren't sailing until 10.00, and surprisingly Heather & Mark were at our table, along with a couple from Queensland who dine at the table on the first sitting. No show for us - off to bed after watching sail away just after 9.00. Captain wanted to go earlier, but couldn't get a pilot until after official sunset.
Saturday 20th
Sadly, I am no better and had a disturbed night with coughing and my left eye has got all bunged up. So I have resorted to the antibiotics I bought with me. I have been holding out in the hope that it may simply go away, but clearly this is no longer an option. I also didn't want to start before the big trip yesterday. Funny thing is that I was perfect in the hot dry climate, but started about halfway home yesterday. Vivian has come out in as heat rash on her legs, so we don't plan anything wild today. These things are more annoying than anything else, so doesn't interfere with the enjoyment.
We turned into the Gulf of Suez mid morning and are slowly steaming towards Suez and the start of the Canal. This is really interesting as we make our way through the oil rigs all around us. Last time we came through at night so didn't see anything. There are also an increasing number of ships both coming and going, although the ones that passed us are just wasting fuel as we have to anchor of Port Suez before establishing our respective positions in the convoy. Captain said last night that he is unsure of our start time and that they are no longer doing north/south transits at the same time, as there are engineering works going on - so we'll all be going north together without a wait over in the Bitter Lakes. Really hope we don't go too fast or too early as I am looking forward to seeing the northern part, which we're missed last time as it was very predawn.
Next update will be from the Mediterranean, where we head to Athens on Tuesday. Let's hope the country is still there and that the receivers haven't taken it away ☺☺☺
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